


Share Each Other Like An Island

by Ravelen



Series: Prompted [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Drunk Alec, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Malec, oblivious idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-11 16:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20549285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravelen/pseuds/Ravelen
Summary: Of all the times for Alec to finally,finallysay what Magnus has longed and wished for he had to pick today.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [sh_ficletinstruments](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/sh_ficletinstruments) collection. 

> For the ficlet instruments Week 8 prompt 'Drunk confessions' (I just used the title of the prompt).
> 
> Title from ‘Set the Fire To The Third Bar,’ by Snow Patrol.

Magnus has just finished up a research conference in Boston when Alec calls. 

It’s late, and Magnus flops back on his hotel bed as he answers, smile fond. “Hello, Alexander.”

“Hello, can I help you?”

Magnus huffs out a laugh. “You called me, Alec. Have you been drinking, my dear?”

“Magnus? MAGNUS?”

“I’m here.”

“There you are!! It’s cold out here, Magnus, but it was too noisy in the bar. I couldn’t hear myself think about you.”

“…Are you okay, Alec? Who is with you?”

“Izzy is here. She’s inside with Simon. Do you know they love each other?”

“Yes, Alec, I do.”

“I miss you, Magnus. You aren’t here and you’re supposed to be here. We are together. We _go_ together.”

“Alec.”

“I wanted to tell you that.”

“That we go together?”

“No, no, no. No! Yes! That and…Magnus. I love you, Magnus.”

“I love you, too.”

“No, don’t. Don’t, don’t do that. We always do that. I love you, ‘like a friend’. I love you, ‘like a buddy’. Buddies don’t love each other like I love you, Magnus.”

Magnus _almost_ says it back, almost tells Alec he loves him too. The words are always on the tip of his tongue and leading his thoughts, after all, but… “Alexander, you’re drunk. Please go and find Isabelle.”

“I WANT TO KISS YOUR FACE.”

“Alexan-”

“Do you want to kiss my face, Magnus?”

“Alec, I really think you should go find-”

“I doooooon’t think friends who only love each other like buddies kiss on the face, and I _really_ want to kiss your beautiful face.”

Magnus can only take so much. He’s just one human man, hopelessly in love with this drunken idiot on the phone. “Yes, Alec. I want to kiss your face,” he sighs.

There is a long moment of silence on the line. Magnus almost thinks Alec has fallen asleep. He pictures him slumped on the bench outside the Hunter’s Moon, his phone in hand.

Then, “Magnus. Why are you so far away?”

Magnus wants to scream, ‘GOOD FUCKING QUESTION.’ 

Of all the times for Alec to finally, _finally_ say what Magnus has longed and wished for he had to pick today.

“I’ll be home tomorrow, my darling,” Magnus says instead. “Come over on Sunday night?”

“Like usual?” Alec asks, sounding somewhat clearer-headed. Alec always comes over on Sunday nights, it’s their regular study and take out session.

“No, not like usual.”

“Like a date?” Alec’s voice is so soft. Magnus wants to convert himself to sound waves and dive down the phone line to him. 

"Yes, like a date.” Magnus grins to himself, heart full. “I'll even cook." 

"Wow, like a _real_ date." 

"Yes, Alexander. A real date.”

“Okay,” Alec says, and Magnus can hear the smile in Alec’s voice. “Bye, I gotta go, Simon is a taxi.”

The call drops. Magnus rolls over on to his front and screams into a pillow. Sunday seems decades away, and Alexander Lightwood will be the death of him.


	2. Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awareness creeps over Alec in increments; the low lighting, the soft music, the fact Magnus bothered to find matching plates. This is a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing but a crazy amount of self-indulgent fluff here, folks!

Awareness creeps over Alec in increments; the low lighting, the soft music, the fact Magnus bothered to find matching plates. This is a date. 

Alec is frozen, fork halfway to his mouth, which is gaping open not unlike an unattractive fish. He stares across the table, past the (fucking obvious) candles, the little erlenmeyer flask with the one red rose, and the _bottle of wine_ into Magnus' eyes. 

Alec is a complete idiot. 

"Um," he says. He puts his fork down, studies his plate. His plate with the home-cooked food, the kind with a recipe to follow. This is not the usual meal they share, from a packet or a takeout menu, when they've been up late studying side-by-side. 

Magnus smiles, and it's a soft smile. His eyes linger on Alec like they never do. No darting away, no avoiding the return of Alec's gaze. It's lovely, it's kinda scary, and it's very confusing. 

"This is a date!" Alec blurts out, and Magnus' smile falters. 

"That...was the idea?" Magnus says. He's frowning now. 

Alec swallows. "I mean I uh…I like it. I just wasn't _expecting it?"_ His voice goes up a little at the end, with a squeak and a crack, betraying his sudden nerves. 

Magnus rocks back a little from the table, dropping his hands to his lap. "What, you’re regretting it?" 

He looks so hurt. Alec is scrambling to understand why. "Regretting _what_, Magnus?" he asks. He gestures to the candle, to the wine and the flower. "I thought I was coming over to study, like we always do on Sunday. I'm just surprised. But _good_ surprised. This is, this is good." 

"You don't remember," Magnus says suddenly. He tips his head back and groans, then swipes a hand through his hair. 

"Remember what?!" 

Magnus stands and paces across the room. "Well, I feel like an idiot." 

Alec goes after him. _"You_ feel like an idiot? I haven't got the faintest idea what's going on!"

Magnus turns to face Alec, arms crossed, defensive. Alec notices that Magnus' fingers are gripping at his elbows so hard they're turning white, that he's wearing Alec's favorite shirt of his, the one with the little arrowhead pattern, and the sleeves that are tight against his biceps just right. He sees that Magnus has taken time with his hair and makeup, like he never bothers to when they hang out together alone. 

Something washes over Alec, equal parts thrilling and terrifying; a funny kind of resolve. He stands a little straighter. He’s got no clue how this happened, but he’s not about to question it. Much. Maybe a little? His biggest talent, after all, is over-thinking.

"Just how drunk _were_ you on Friday night?" Magnus asks and Alec blinks, back in the room. 

The answer to that is very, very, verrrrry drunk. Drunk enough that he doesn't remember much of the night beyond pre-drinks at Izzy's place, and her contention that alcohol was the cure to all his ills, the greatest of which was his unrequited crush on his best friend. The best friend that had been out of town all week, leaving Alec with the time and space to examine exactly why he missed him so much. 

Alec’s never been that drunk before, and he’s rethinking his previous contention that when people said they couldn’t remember what they’d gotten up to on a night out, it was so much hyperbole. 

"I was...uh, pretty wasted, yeah." 

Magnus nods, and looks away and down at the floor. 

"Magnus," Alec says, stepping close. "What is it?" 

"You called me," Magnus says. "You said...some stuff. I thought…well, it doesn't matter now." 

"What did I say?" 

"It doesn't matter. It wasn't real, you were drunk, you didn't mean it, you can't even _remember_ it." 

"Magnus, please." 

"You said you loved me!" Magnus says, throwing his hands up.

Yesterday, Alec had woken up with his worst ever hangover and the overriding feeling that he’d done something monumentally stupid. But what if he hadn’t done something stupid at all? What if he’d done something brilliant; something long overdue.

Alec's heart thunders in his chest. "Magnus-" 

"No, it's okay. I'm gonna clear this away. Then, um…maybe you should go, I think I need to go crawl in a hole and die."

Magnus pushes past him to get to the table, but Alec reaches out and grabs his arm. "Wait." 

Magnus stops, allows Alec to tug him around, but can't seem to bring himself to look at Alec.

"Look at me," Alec says. "Magnus." 

Magnus lets out a long breath, then turns to face him. His shoulders are slumped, but he does lift his head. Alec can't believe he's just now realizing how often they each avoid holding each other's gaze, as if by doing so they can avoid the truth that's always been between them. 

Alec keeps his attention steady, hoping there is no way for Magnus to find any doubt. "I meant every word." 

Magnus laughs sharply. "You just said yourself, you don't remember anything."

Alec shakes his head. "I don't need to. It's true." He reaches out, hands closing against Magnus' chest, gathering folds of his shirt to tug him close. "Of course I love you, Magnus. I've loved you since the moment we met." He gives Magnus a little shake, as if to knock sense into him. _Don't you see? _

Alec steps close, close enough that their toes press together in their socks, that their foreheads and noses brush. "You're all I think about."

Magnus is taking great lungfuls of air, like he's just run a marathon. Alec slides a hand to Magnus' cheek and Magnus leans into it, his eyes closing. 

"I love you too," Magnus says, and then he reaches for Alec, and Alec is lost to the crush of Magnus’ arms, to the slide of his mouth. Alec feels giddy, drunk again. 

Later, when the remains of their dinner have gone cold and the candles have burned down, they lie on the couch. Alec tucks his head against Magnus' chest, and Magnus threads his fingers through Alec's hair. 

"I'm sorry I had to be drunk to tell you the truth," Alec murmurs, lips pressed against Magnus' throat. 

Magnus grins, pulling back just enough to catch his eyes. "Better drunk than never." He looks down, watches his fingers drawing circles on Alec’s bare arm. Alec hums, his skin prickling with heat. 

“It feels like a cliché to ask, but why did we wait so long?” Magnus says.

Alec thinks back on five years of missed opportunities, misunderstandings and bad timing. He thinks back on five years of friendship, support, and the deep kind of trust that comes with knowing someone inside out. He shrugs. “Maybe we weren’t ready.”

“Hmm,” Magnus hums, smiling to himself. “Maybe.”

“Or maybe we’re idiots and drunk Alec knew better.”

Magnus laughs. “Maybe.”

Alec hauls himself upright. “What else did I say?” he asks. “You know, besides the…love thing.”

Magnus rolls his eyes. “You weren’t very eloquent, my love. Mostly you shouted about wanting to kiss my face.”

“Okay, drunk me might have a point, I do like kissing your face.” Alec leans into Magnus, kisses his cheek softly. “Your mouth.” Another kiss. “Anywhere you’ll let me.” He bobs his eyebrows, aiming for seductive, but he’s also laughing, which probably spoils the effect. Alec laughs until his stomach hurts. “Fuck, drunk me is stupid.”

Magnus sobers, his eyes soft. He lifts a hand and runs a fingertip softly from Alec’s forehead to the tip of his nose, then traces his bottom lip tenderly, all while Alec practically dies in his arms. “I don’t know,” Magnus says. “I think he’s pretty smart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)
> 
> I'm on twitter [here](https://twitter.com/ravelens) if you want to say hi...
> 
> PS. In case you're wondering, yes it is entirely possible to be so drunk you forget an entire evening. I wouldn't recommend it. I once got so drunk at uni, I arranged to go on a date with the guy that ran the burger truck, and didn't remember until the next time I went to buy a burger. I was 19 at the time and he was like 45. Fun times!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :)


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